PCB Chairman Promises to Take Action Against The Hands Behind the Disastrous Tour of Australia

KARACHI: Ijaz Butt on Tuesday delayed taking any action against the ‘culprits’ of Pakistan’s disastrous tour of Australia but promised to do that soon.

However, developments taking place behind the scenes on Tuesday, have suggested that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman could himself be walking on thin ice.


Well-placed sources told that Butt made an unsuccessful attempt to garner the support of President Asif Zardari — PCB’s chief patron — before implementing the recommendations of a probe panel which has called for strict action against five national cricketers — Shoaib Malik, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal.

According to the sources, Butt was told by Salman Farooqi — Zardari’s Principal Secretary — that he was on his own over the matter.

In addition, Butt and company were also concerned over a backlash from the players if the Board went ahead with the bans and hefty fines recommended by the inquiry committee.

It was one of the reasons why the PCB chief refrained from making any announcements regarding the issue on Tuesday.

A five-man probe panel constituted by the PCB last month has recommended one-year bans for former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik and experienced all-rounder Rana Naved-ul-Hasan. The committee found them guilty of indiscipline during the tour of Australia where Pakistan lost all their matches.

The committee wants hefty fines of up to Rs3 million each against seasoned allrounder Shahid Afridi, wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal and his younger brother Umar Akmal. Afridi is to be punished for ball-tampering during the fifth One-day International against Australia while the Akmal brothers are to be penalised for a controversy that was triggered in the run-up to the final Test in Hobart.

Kamran gave repeated statements that he would play in Hobart even though the PCB had issued a statement saying that he would be dropped because of a poor showing in the second Test in Sydney. Umar was accused of feigning an injury before the Hobart Test in a bid to pressurize the team management to stick with his elder sibling.

Sources said that Butt held a meeting with Taffazul Rizvi, the PCB lawyer, to discuss any legal fallout of the action the Board plans to take against the players.

One of the players involved told this correspondent that he would consider taking legal action against the PCB if the Board decides to punish him.

“The Board cannot take any action against any of the players because we haven’t signed any contract with it.

The PCB can only implement its code of conduct if we are under contract,” said the player referring to the fact that the PCB is yet to offer central contracts to the players.

Sources in the PCB admitted that there are a few unresolved issues but made it clear that Butt has made up his mind to implement the committee’s recommendations.

Butt himself promised that the PCB will take more than substantial action against the players found responsible for Pakistan’s poor showing Down Under. “We are looking at fines and bans as punishment and the action that we will take will definitely be more than significant,” Butt told Cricinfo.

“We met with the selectors yesterday and discussed the report,” Butt said. “Some of the information was leaked from that and I will not comment on the identity of the players for now. We will make public the actions that we take, not the report itself.

“But I can tell you that the report is very concrete. It has taken inputs from the reports of the captain, the coach, the manager. The committee called these people in as well and asked pertinent questions based on what they read. It is a solid document.”

Sources told further that there is a big possibility that the PCB will implement the recommendation but will allow the players to appeal against the action. “The players might be given a relief once they file an appeal against the action,” said the source.

There are, however, indications that Malik and Rana will not be a part of the Pakistan team for the ICC World Twenty20 championship that gets underway in the West Indies from April 30. “But Afridi and the Akmal brothers will be selected for the event,” said the source. Pakistan are to name their 15-man squad for the World Twenty20 next week.